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Robot Dance Competition in Tokyo: Get Your Computational Groove On!

For all of you robot afficiandos, you have to check out the recent "ROBO-ONE GATE INTERNATIONAL ROBOT EXHIBITION 2009" that took place in Tokyo. It really is amazing how far robots have come. I am especially impressed by some of the side-to-side moves, the ability to get up from a fall, and how well coordinated the dance moves are to the music. There is still a lot of work to do to make robots mainstream, but the technology at least seems to be… Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on December 9, 2009 at 8:30am — No Comments

RoboBusiness Conference: Too Many Robotic Hammers Looking for a Nail?

Last week’s RoboBusiness conference in Boston was chicken soup for the geek’s soul. For the inner kid inside all of us, it showed how all that we have imagined over the past 50 years in books and movies can become a reality. Star Wars, Transformers, Terminator, it’s almost all possible now through advances in robotics technology. However, for the outer business person in us, the RoboBusiness show left you thinking: “What’s wrong? Why isn’t the… Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on April 22, 2009 at 12:00am — No Comments

Are Medical Devices the Best Bridge to Wide-Scale Consumer Robotics?

In my ongoing research, one of the challenges that stands out for consumer robotics is the cost/benefit of any new robotics device or application. Robotics is one of extremes. On one hand very expensive industrial and military robots enjoy success, while smaller scale consumer robots get squeezed by cost issues into toys.



http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/43729/181/



Medical robots may be a way… Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on August 26, 2009 at 7:00am — No Comments

FIRST Robotics Competitions: Can (Lots of) Kids in Braces Help Foster Consumer Adoption?

There are a few ways to increase the acceptance and adoption of consumer robots. One way is to build better robots. Another way is to educate consumers about what robots can (and can’t) do for them. Another is to create a diabolical army of robots that kill off all the humans so it won’t matter. Assuming the first two methods are more practical, one might want to focus on the next-generation of consumers and business leaders. You know, those sentient… Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on July 3, 2009 at 8:00am — No Comments

Add Robots to the Long List of Warriors’ Friends

With our focus on consumer technology, we at Trender Research don’t often talk about industrial, government, or military devices (except when we jokingly daydream about flame-thrower equipped Roombas). But in honor of all veterans on this Memorial Day, we take a closer look at military robotics.



An MSNBC… Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on May 25, 2009 at 8:00am — No Comments

Battle of the CES Robots-- Part 2: WowWee, Mech RC, AnyBots, Novint

Here are some more robots for your viewing pleasure. The WowWee line up of family-friendly robots is truly amazing. Check out this short video overview. I had a chance to see the Robosapien in action too (play short video).…

Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on January 14, 2009 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Lovable Robot--A Teaching Tool in Autism Spectrum Disorders



Find more videos like this on Trender Research™

Children and adults with autism spectrum disorders sometimes appear to lack human emotions—much like a robot propelled by a power source.



But for all the recent media attention and attempts to explain the burgeoning numbers of children diagnosed with the disorder, the cause of autism remains a mystery and there is no pill or… Continue

Added by Joyce Pellino Crane on May 5, 2009 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Nightmarish-Looking iRobot Looj Turns Gutter Cleaning into a Dream

iRobot Looj



I spent the past two days at the RoboBusiness show in Boston. Robotics is an exciting growth industry, but one that has been troubled by too much cool technology and not enough solid business plans and marketing. I will be discussing some possible reasons for this in a separate post. One of the leaders in consumer robotics, and the founding sponsor of the show, iRobot stands out as one of the success stories in an… Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on April 17, 2009 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Battle of the CES Robots: iRobot's Orginal Mass-Market Roomba



Well, I finally was able to overcome a major technical glitch with my new BlackBerry Storm (sorry RIM), and was able to retrieve about half of the videos and images I took at CES. The other half were corrupted and came back with an error message: "Error Playing- the media being played is of an unsupported format" (notice the very proper sentence structure of our more civilized neighbors to the North) which is ironic since they were all taken… Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on January 13, 2009 at 2:30am — No Comments

Early Adopter- or Pack Rat? Blackberry Analysis

(Note: Make sure to read my detailed BlackBerry Storm review found here)



So, I have been walking around with this big, old, fat original Blackberry for about 2 years now, much to the dismay of my co-workers and friends. Problem is, I am an early adopter, meaning I get new technology gadgets or services when they improve my life with some new capability, but I also hold on to them as long as they are… Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on November 11, 2008 at 10:00pm — No Comments

CES: Day One First Thoughts



Got into Vegas yesterday for the first day of the Consumer Electronics Show, which is really the biggest one week toy store in the world. My focus for the show is the future of whole house audio/video for an upcoming report (including next-gen HDTVs, various set-top boxes, networking, Internet devices, etc.), but I am also taking a look at the latest in telephony and mobile technologies; technologies geared towards parents/children, handicapped,… Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on January 7, 2009 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Trender Awards Winners Announced



Trender Research is pleased to announce the winners of our first annual Trender Awards. At final count, almost 100 tech products and services were submitted for consideration by Trenders or the vendors themselves. From these candidates, we compiled a short-list of finalists that were announced last week.



The Trender Awards were created to honor… Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on February 27, 2009 at 5:00pm — No Comments

Trender Awards Finalists Announced



Below are the finalists for the Trender Awards. The Trender Awards were created to honor gadgets and services that are not only cool, novel, and improve people's lives in some way, but also have appeal to everyday folks.



Process



At final count we had almost 100 products or services for consideration. More than half of these products Trender Research has already covered or are from companies with which we have… Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on February 19, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

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Top Tech News

New Xbox more than a game console for Microsoft

Visitors play with Microsoft's Xbox 360 consoles at the Tokyo Game Show in Chiba By Malathi Nayak and Bill Rigby SAN FRANCISCO/SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is set to make a splash this week with the eagerly awaited unveiling of its new Xbox game console, eight years after the last version, as it seeks a larger share of the $65 billion a year global computer gaming industry. But the small device faces some big competition from the PlayStation 4 by Sony Corp and the Wii U by Nintendo Co Ltd in a shifting market. ...


Google's wearable Glass gadget: cool or creepy?

File photo of Google founder Sergey Brin posing for a portrait wearing Google Glass during New York Fashion Week By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google staged four discussions expounding on the finer points of its "Glass" wearable computer during this week's developer conference. Missing from the agenda, however, was a session on etiquette when using the recording-capable gadget, which some attendees faithfully wore everywhere - including to the crowded bathrooms. Google Glass, a cross between a mobile computer and eyeglasses that can both record video and surf the Internet, is now available to a select few but is already among the year's most buzz-worthy new gadgets. ...


Exclusive: EU cites Chinese telecoms Huawei and ZTE for trade violations

EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht stands for a portrait while visiting Reuters in New York By Daniel Bases NEW YORK (Reuters) - Europe's top trade official for the first time late on Friday officially cited Chinese mobile telecommunications equipment makers Huawei and ZTE Corp for violating anti-dumping and anti-subsidy guidelines. European Union Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said he was prepared to launch a formal investigation into anti-competitive behavior by these Chinese companies in order to protect a "strategic" sector of Europe's economy. ...


How the mighty have fallen: Nokia’s struggles, put in perspective

In one point in time, Nokia was the top-selling smartphone vendor in the world by a wide margin. It wasn’t even that long ago, in fact. But when Nokia failed to respond quickly enough to the industry’s shift toward touch, the Finnish giant lost its footing and toppled spectacularly. Just how bad have things gotten for Nokia? Market share numbers paint a pretty frightening picture, but a single tweet from Benedict Evans of Enders Analysis might do an even better job of putting things in perspective. In the past two years since Nokia announced that it was switching to Windows Phone as its mobile platform of choice, the vendor has sold just over 20 million Lumia phones. During the same period

Yahoo to vote on $1.1 billion Tumblr buy: AllThingsD

A Yahoo logo is pictured in Rolle SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc's board will meet on Sunday to vote on whether to offer $1.1 billion in cash for New York-based blogging service Tumblr, tech blog AllThingsD cited sources close to the situation as saying on Friday. Such an acquisition would be CEO Marissa Mayer's largest deal since taking the helm of the once-iconic Internet company in July 2012. Yahoo is keen on Tumblr because its younger user base would enhance the older website's "cool factor," the technology blog cited the sources as saying. The news could be announced as soon as Monday, it said. ...


Verizon cuts prepaid plan prices, piles on more data

Consumers have begun to move away from two-year contracts and embrace the prepaid smartphone market. In response to this growing user base, Verizon Wireless this week announced that it is increasing its data allowance for prepaid customers. The carrier’s new plans offer unlimited talk and text with 2GB of data, up from 500MB, for $60 a month. There is also a plan with 4GB of data, up from 2GB, for $70 per month. The increased data allowance is available now to current customers, and will be available to new customers beginning June 6th. AT&T also recently announced a new prepaid service in select markets, known as Aio Wireless, which offers unlimited talk and text with 2GB of data for $55

'Sonic' video games coming to Nintendo

This undated publicity photo released by Sega shows the video game, "Sonic Lost World." It is set for release on the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS later this year. (AP Photo/Sega) LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sonic the Hedgehog is rolling with Nintendo.


Leak suggests Nokia ‘EOS’ will feature 4.5-inch 720p display, 41-megapixel camera

Nokia is rumored to be preparing a 41-megapixel Lumia smartphone, codenamed EOS, that will be released later this year. According to WMPowerUser, the handset will look similar to Nokia’s Lumia 920 smartphone and will feature a polycarbonate case with a 4.5-inch 720p display. The device will reportedly come with a new application called “Nokia Pro Camera” to compliment the 41-megapixel PureView camera, which is also said to include a protective lens cover that automatically opens when the camera application is launched. Unlike the handful of Lumias that came before it, however, the EOS will reportedly not come in different colors and will not natively support wireless charging. Earlier reports suggested that Nokia would launch its EOS smartphone in the United States

Morrison seals $306 million Ocado deal in online catch-up

A Morrisons sign is seen outside a supermarket in north London By James Davey LONDON (Reuters) - British supermarket chain Wm Morrison is investing more than 200 million pounds in a 25-year deal with online grocer Ocado, seeking to catch up with rivals in home delivery and sending Ocado shares to a record high. Morrison, which trails Tesco, Wal-Mart's Asda and J Sainsbury in annual sales, has suffered falling profits and market share, partly due to its late entry into online grocery which is growing about 16 percent a year. Morrison and Ocado said their deal would not affect Ocado's arrangement with upmarket grocer Waitrose, due to run to 2020. ...


HTC says One production will double to meet ‘strong demand’

Of all the problems to have when launching a new flagship smartphone, trouble keeping up with demand is hardly the worst. Of course, things change a bit when a company has to pump units into channels as quickly as possible before the top-selling smartphone vendor in the world launches the Galaxy S4. HTC undoubtedly lost some sales thanks to its production woes with the One, but a new report suggests its manufacturing issues are behind it. According to Focus Taiwan, HTC North Asia president Jack Tong said that production capacity for the HTC One will double in May and increase further in June. ”Our capacity is expected to rise significantly starting from mid-May,” Tong reportedly said Friday at a press conference. “We

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